The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-08-03
DIABoLICAL INGENUITY.
The Horrible Tortures of the Inquisition.

The Horrible Tortures of the InquisitIon.
On, the awful, diabolieal ingenuity
of these tortures' The thumbSerews.
the spanish boot. the bed of ease.
which is long. narrow plank. sbout
ten feet long, studded thicklv with
wooden spikes. not sharp enough 10
really cut the flesh. but only 10 bruise,
pierce, and mangle it. Above this is
big roller also studded with spikes.
and moveable, so that when the victim
was placed naked upon the bed and
drawn up and down it by ropes at
tached To his hands and feet the roller
at the same time moved over his body.
Then there were masks that crushed
IN the face; ladies from which molten
lead poured into the ears and the palms
OF the hands; the easy chair, like the
bed, only the victim sat and was rolled;
the Spanish donkey, something like
saw horse, with very narrow plank
upward, upon which the naked
victim was seated, his Cor her) arms
bound backward and with very
heavy iron weights ATTACHED to the
feet. There was the cradle, its bed
and pillow studded with spikes. upon
which the victim, always nude was
laid, and the cradle rocked violently.
Pictures of all these tortures used to
hang in the Rath house as a warn
ing to tranSgreSSorS; truely. their,
ways here were hard. There were
knives for delicately removing the ears,
hatchets for cutting off the hands, the
wheel, upon which the poor wretch's
bones were broken one by one, till at
last the coup de grace was given by
his skull being crushed. Now we were
shown a chain made by count. who
loved and was beloved by sister of
Frederick the Great, and was SEN
fenced to lifelong Imprisonment. The
chain was carved from a single stick
of wood; it was very long, each link
ending in a sort of q spoon. Ii sug-
gested TO n. that he intSnded to show
to the world that though in chains he
was still spoons upon his lady love.
Here was also an arrangement by
which the prisoner was held up and
burned under the arms, by means of
wisps of straw, until he confessed
That was done as late 1858, and vet
people talk of the blue laws of Conneeti-
cut. Why, they We're rose-colored in
comparison with those of this civilized
land in the present century.
In the Old tower, which is said to
have been built by Romans (old towers |
at least partly built by the Romans
are as common here as our houses in |
which Washington has slept are at |
hOme,) the Iron Virgin" has place.
You are shown the spot where the |
prisoner sentenced to her embrace had |
to lie without food and water two days |
before his death that he might mediate |
upon his sins. Near him was 1.-THE poor
sinners bell, which the guide struck |
for US to hear; it was hollow solemn |
sound, this was tolled every few minutes |
to prevent any sleep coming to ease |
the poor wretch. This is different from !
our treatment of murderers Ours have |
a good time of it, all the delicacies of |
the season to eat and drink and crowds |
of nice young Sunday-school teachers |
and pretty, sentimental, admirinp |
young women who flock to them with |
flowers, pseudo religion, and the |
charms of their society. Here in |
\ Nuremburg if he even tried to speak |
and tell his woes he was ''iabbed" with |
a spike On the third day, as by that |
time he was supposed to be properly |
penitent and to thoroughly realize his |
position, he was taken to the Iron |
Virgin This is a huge figure of a
woman. 1t was made in 1850, and |
wears costume of that period She |
wears a mantle over big iron hoops;
Her iron hood almost covers her
welcoming face. The body |
was opened to show US; it is very
heavy, lined with wood, in which are put |
long, sharp pointed knives-two very
long ones to enter the ewes and pierce
the brain, and hundreds for the naked |
body of the poor victim. who has waited
for her embrace. in the same room with
her, for two days and nights. How end |
less they must have seemed, Heis taken
to her arms, and the heavy doors, with
their cruel, awful knives, are closed
upon him.
words can describe it. After few
hours the doors were opened an the |
body fell through a trap door into a |
quicklime grave below. This Ninstru- |
ment was only used to punish double
murderers. The last witch, or rather |
wizard, publicly burned was man |
in 1894. The last death on the wheel |
was in 1900. The last man burned |
under the arms to extort confession |
was (as above said) in 1858. The last
who endured the tortures of the rack |
and thumbscrew, the Spanish donkey, |
and the cradle, were a man and his |
wife, servants at the castle who were |
accused of theft. They were thus
tortured, the woman dying in two
days; the man lived a hopeless, suffer |
ering cripple for more than two years. |
4 Cor Hartford Times.